Creating A Positive Visual Impression With Plus Size Clothing

In the days of great master painters like Rubens and Titian, women with some 'meat on their bones' where considered far more attractive than those who were thin. There is the theory that the society of the time considered plus size women to be an indication of prosperity much like in certain other cultures where the amount of gold adornment women wore was indicative of their husband's wealth. However, from the artist's point of view, a shapely subject might simply have been more interesting to paint.

All this may not be of any consolation to plus size women who are likely to feel ungainly next to the reed-thin models that grace the pages of fashion magazines. However, it is entirely possible for women who are larger than what might be termed a 'regular size' to dress fashionably, all it takes is adherence to a few simple sartorial rules relating to the visual perception of the human body by a beholder.

It is important to remember that the eye can be 'tricked' in a positive manner and that you can play with this to your advantage. Needless to say, the eye can also be tricked in a negative way to perceive size that is not there and this you certainly don't want to do! What you want to do is to accentuate the positive and steer away from the negative at all costs. Even if you are not ready to celebrate your curves by wearing form-fitting clothing, you also do not want to give the impression that you are larger than you are by wearing oversized garments, as you will, in fact, be creating size that is not actually there.

Some women try to hide their size with shapeless garments that hang off their bodies like circus tents. Garments like this actually create the illusion of size, whereas form-fitting clothes give a more normal silhouette which the eye correspondingly sees as normal. On the other hand, clothing should not be too tight because this causes unflattering creases and bulges and again makes you look bigger than you are because your clothes look too small for you.

You can also create a favourable visual impression by playing with the rules of line, colour, proportion and harmony, for instance, but you may want to either acquire a book on personal styling, or hire a personal stylist or image consultant to help you with this, as it can be tricky to accomplish without prior knowledge of artistic principles.